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7/6/08 11:50 PM | Jonathan Morgan
After two years of defeat, especially last year's heartbreaker, Rafael Nadal comes back to take the title in this epic match.
Hollywood would toss you out on the street and rip up your script.
Coming into this match, Nadal and Federer were the main guys in tennis for the past few years and Roland Garros and Wimbledon were their hallowed grounds. Federer at Wimbledon, Nadal at Roland Garros. 5 times prior to this they played in those slam finals, and each time, the home team won.
But not here.
The first set started off with Nadal on fire and Roger looking a bit stiff. A slight rain delay made the match start around 30-40 minutes later. Nadal broke early to lead 2-1, but Roger fought back. After saving break points with stellar play, Nadal held for 3-1. The rest of the set went on serve until Nadal served for it at 5-4. A tough game followed with Nadal eventually holding his nerve and his serve.
The second set was different. Federer broke early and jumped to a 3-0 lead. It looked like he would be crusing to a second set lead as he began to serve better and attacked the net much more than in the first. At 4-1, things changed. Nadal held for 2-4 and Federer served. Nadal seemed to turn it up a level and broke Fed's serve twice to serve for it at 5-4. Another tough game here before Nadal held for the set.
By the middle of the 3rd, Nadal was rolling and looked to win this final in straights. At 3 all, Federer served at 0-40. Had Nadal broken, it looked to be done. As it were, Federer served 5 big serves and held. On the went until Federer held for 5-4. Then the rains cames. An hour and a half delay followed with Roger coming out looking better. On into the tiebreak, Federer just edged out the Spaniard to take the set.
In the 4th, the quality of play really increased. Not a single break point, and some absolutely stellar play from both. The 4th set tiebreak was arguably one of the best in the history of tennis. Words honestly cannot describe how Nadal smacked a forehand winner from 10 feet behind the baseline on the dead run to pass Federer and get a match point. Words cannot describe Federer coming right back in the next point, hitting an awesome backhand winner to save match point. Federer took this tiebreak as well and took it to a 5th set. At 5-2 in the tiebreak, Nadal was two points from the match when he got tight. A double fault followed by a poor point and two big serves left Federer with 6-5 in the breaker. Nadal played an excellent point to tie it up at 6-6, and at 7-7 hit that insane forehand pass. Federer ended up winning it 10-8 to head to the 5th.
The 5th set featured even more great play. At 2 all, deuce, Federer serving, yet another plot twist came in the form of a short rain delay. No one was quite sure how long it would last, and some were thinking the final may get pushed back to Monday. It didn't and the men came back on for Act 3 of this epic. Federer came out at deuce and threw down two aces to hold for 3-2. On they went, with the quality of play increasing, the shots more and more amazing as the pressure increased, and both men thriving on it. With Nadal serving at 3-4, Federer pushed and pushed and reached a break point. Nadal showed insane nerves to save that break point for 4 all. Nadal once again had 15-40 at 5 all, just like last years final, and once again, Federer saved them. On they went into the night until 7 all, when Nadal once again had a 15-40 opening. Federer got it back to deuce, but Nadal amazingly was able to break and serve for the match. A 8-7, Nadal had a match point, hit a fine serve out wide to Federer's backhand, which Roger smacked back for a clean winner. A few points later, however, Federer dumped a forehand into the net and Rafael collapsed on the grass/dust/dirt behind the baseline as the new Wimbledon champion.
This was the longest match in Wimbledon finals history, at 4 hours 48 minutes, and also the latest to end in terms of time (9:18 PM).
Both men had insane stats, Nadal won 209 points to Federer's 204, and it is an instant classic. Nadal was broken just once. Nadal now moves within a few hundred points of the #1 ranking. Bjorn Borg's record of 5 straight Wimbledons was NOT broken, but his Roland Garros/Wimbledon double has been matched. Nadal's 5th slam title, and at the age of barely 22.
This match was pure tennistic ecstasy
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awesome match! congrats to both :-) VAMOS RAFA ;-)
RafaNadalGirl20 , 7/7/08 12:57 AM
certainly the best tennis match i have ever seen.
the big winner is tennis sport itself...
supertilly , 7/7/08 1:11 AM
imagine how many children watching this match would want to be tennis players!!
even i,being a 21-year old,did want to quit my university and become a tennis player! awesome!
sisterofnight12 , 7/7/08 4:26 PM
big congratulations to rafa. As to whether who is a better tennis player, i would say federer, even though i am rafa's huge fan.
rakten , 7/7/08 8:10 PM
Rafa and Roger exceed all expectations... the greatest match(final) they've ever played! Nadal's determination and will to win under such gargantuan pressure is superhuman. Federer's calmness under such conditions can never be described by words. They're both deserving to win but ONLY one has to be the champion... RAFA... the king!
agf25agf , 7/8/08 12:40 AM
well played RAFA...your mental strength is just extraordinary.after losing match points then bouncing back like that.that is out of this world,the trophy is with the right owner.THE KING OF CLAY IS NOW THE KING OF WIMBLEDON
molynncath , 7/8/08 1:11 AM
Greatest tennis match ever. A well deserved effort with a phenomenal consistency was the key to solving the puzzle of Roger Federer. A sinusoidal performance from the king let him down at crucial points and brought home the trophy to the gutsy fighter who showed a lot of heart and quite a bit of muscle.
That said, Roger Federer's tennis genius is still unparalleled. I just hope that he does not fade away or pull a pathetic Borg on the fans. Real greatness is in accepting what happened and reinventing himself to come back with a composed vengeance and claim his throne back in 2009, and not just at the wimbledon.
It took me almost a day to get over the match. Roger will need at least more than that. I am praying to see his class act back on the hard courts this summer.
Krishna , 7/8/08 1:41 AM
ok...
so pretty much what every one is trying to say it that rafael nadal is
SUPER SEXY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SUPER PRO AT TENNIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and federa's a little girl who should go cry to his mum(nothing personal roger, i just like rafa better)
btw. it was a good match, who didn't see it coming?
ilr , 7/8/08 1:23 PM
After game 9 of set 5, Nadal played aggressively (even under sudden death) to force Fed to play catchup. During this period Nadal hit winners to end 2 games, earn 4 break points, score 1st point in games 10 and 15, and 2 early points in game 16.
robcolson , 7/11/08 12:03 AM
the best match ever!!
no question federer is the better player, he's a true champ, just that the luck wasn't on his side....
as for nadal, he just looks like a WWF wrestler who always makes the opponent wait forever during the games by pinching his ass haha
zane , 7/16/08 3:57 PM
Did you know that... Michael Chang is the youngest Grand Slam champion in tennis history. He was 17 years and 3 months old when he won the French Open in 1989.
homos, Dec 3, 2008 9:09 AM
RickyDimon, Dec 3, 2008 5:21 AM
Navratilovastillplay, Dec 3, 2008 12:32 AM
tennisgirl, Dec 1, 2008 11:48 PM
lendl, Dec 1, 2008 6:17 PM
Navratilovastillplay, Dec 3, 2008 1:32 AM
Casper, Dec 2, 2008 8:23 PM
Casper, Dec 2, 2008 8:02 PM
Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal
Wimbledon
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What a fantastic match!
EinarBerg , 7/7/08 12:28 AM